We now know that MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, will contest in the presidential runoff against Mugabe. But the million dollar question is, “When will this runoff take place?” Your guess is as good as mine. By law the runoff has to take place within the next 2 weeks but chances of that happening are almost zero. The current ruling party will try as best as it can to delay this runoff vote so that they get their house and strategies in order.

Tsvangirai said that he would contest the runoff only if certain conditions are met such as there being international observers. This is wishful thinking as there is no way Mugabe will let any of Tsvangirai’s demands be met. Why would Mugabe allow for such knowing that if these conditions are met there is no way he would win the election? One ZANU-PF member termed it, “Why would you invite your enemy to your wedding?” ZANU-PF have been able to bend the laws to their advantage for many years now and it will be no different now. They can set the date for the runoff to be when ever they see fit and thoughts are they may delay the date for a very long time with some circles thinking that it could take up to one year until the runoff vote is had.

One year would be perfect timing for Mugabe. It would give him all the time necessary to map out his tactics and strategies to make sure he wins. At the same time the one year wait will frustrate the opposition so much that they may not know what to do anymore. Would the opposition continue to fight or will they run out of steam? This is just like the long wait for the announcement of the results. People got frustrated to the point that when the results were actually announced no one seemed to really care anymore. All these are tactics from the master tactician Mugabe.

It is right that Tsvangirai has decided to take part in the runoff. There was really no way he could afford not to and hand over the presidency to Mugabe on a silver plate. No the waiting begins yet again to find out when this runoff will take place and I advise you not to hold your breath on this one as this runoff could take forever to come.